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SchrodingerZ writes "Captain Scott Kelly, brother of former commander Mark Kelly, will embark on the United States' longest manned space mission, set for 2015. Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will spend an entire year on the orbiting International Space Station. The mission will be a first for NASA's space program, but it is far from the world record. The longest recorded time in space was the 438-day mission of Russia's Valery Polyakov, working on the Mir Space Station, 1994-1995. Kelly, a decorated Navy captain, received degrees from State University of New York Maritime College and the University of Tennessee, and was the flight engineer for space station expedition 25, and commander of expedition 26 in 2010. 'Kornienko hails from Russia's Syzran, Kuibyshev, region and has worked in the space industry since 1986.' The yearlong study on humans working in space will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, spring 2015."

The Russians already have proven the ability of a man to live 15 months in space. Mind you, that was in low earth orbit. Still, within Earth's magnetic field.

Going to Mars will require either invulnerable spacemen, or (b) adequate shielding. The current candidate for that is the water needed for the trip.

This is bullshit. Weightlessness is a problem because of atrophy and bone loss, yes. But *The Russians already did that. They sent up guys in a can in orbit for a LONG time* on Mir. Due to bungee cords, t